This is a New Barry Sholder Gourd 5 string Fretless Banjo #020. The neck is Curly Maple with a vintage amber finish. The fretless fingerboard is Rosewood along with the friction violin tuners. The compact peghead has an overlay of Bubinga. The tailpiece is a Romero style which keep the strings off the edge of the gourd.
The gourd measures 9 1/2" dia. x 4" deep and has a soundport on the upper portion of the gourd which boosts bass response. As with all my banjos the interior is finished in a 2 part epoxy resin for better acoustics. The strings are a Custom set of DiAddario nylon and composite classical guitar strings. These have a harder feel than the Nylgut.
Because of the size of the gourd, this banjo has a very bright tone. As you can see in the photos there is a turquiose cabachon(stone) inset into the back of the gourd.
The fretless part of these banjos shouldn't scare you away. If you have been playing banjo for any time your fingers should know where they are going and from what I hear from the feed back of buyers of my banjos they pick it up pretty quick. Also check out reviews on this website.
For more info you can visit my website: www.gourdbanjosbybarry.com
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